Ahead of his birthday, king Willem-Alexander rises in popularity stakes

The king and queen leaving a dinner for the diplomatic corps earlier this week. Photo: Fotopersburo Edwin Janssen via HH

King Willem-Alexander, who celebrates five years on the throne on Friday, is more popular than ever, according to the annual ‘royalty survey’ carried out by current affairs show EenVandaag.

Some 85% of the programme’s 25,000 strong panel said they had confidence the king is doing a good job, up from 82% last year and 77% in 2016.

The king is more of a king to all the Dutch than he used to be, is more credible and presents himself better than he used to, the panel members said.

Queen Maxima remains the most popular member of the royal household, followed by Willem Alexander. The king’s mother princess Beatrix ties for third place with Pieter van Vollenhoven, husband of the queen’s sister Margriet who has held a number of public jobs.

DutchNews.nl has been free for 12 years, but now we are asking our readers to help. Your donation will enable us to keep providing you with fair and accurate news and features about all things Dutch. Donate via Ideal, credit card or Paypal.